In many ways Scandinavian film and television is a global cultural brand, connected with and exporting some of the cultural and social values connected to a liberal and progressive welfare society. This course deals with the social, institutional and cultural background of film and television in Scandinavia and in a broader European and global context.

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May 15, 2017

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De la lección

Contemporary Scandinavian Film and TV Culture and Dreyer's Classical Cinema

This module consists of two lessons. The first lesson offers an introduction to main trends in the contemporary Scandinavian film and television culture, focusing – among other things – on how the national film and television cultures relate to ideas of the welfare state. The module also addresses the international impact of film and television from Scandinavia. The second lesson deals with the early years of cinema in Scandinavia and the work of the Danish director Carl Th. Dreyer, from a silent film classic such as 'The Passion of Joan of Arc' to the sound film era.ist

Impartido por:

Eva Novrup Redvall

Associate Professor

Transcripción

[SOUND] Scandinavian film and television culture doesn't posses the galactic powers of the Star Wars series, nor do we inhabit the magic world of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. What Scandinavian film and television is famous for is not blockbusters and mainstream film and television dramas, although we may occasionally find such a Scandinavian hit. But even when it happens, as it did with the Millennium Trilogy from 2009 based on the late Swedish crime author Stieg Larsson's books, the global audience for each of these films in cinema was only between 6 and 9 million. If we compare this to the average of 50 to 60 million for the US, UK films about Harry Potter, we get a feeling of the global power of American English films compared to Scandinavia. All Scandinavian countries have a quite strong and diverse production of film and television genres, and national audiences tend to like the film and television they get. But Scandinavia is a small region in a very big and very global world, and each of the countries are small. Sweden has 9.5 milion inhabitants, Denmark 5.6 million, Finland 5.4 million, and Norway 4.9 million. In the European Union as a whole, the population is by now 739 million. So Europe is much bigger than US with its 311 million. But where Europe is fragmented in many different nations with different languages, USA is a unified and very firmly organized market with a strong tradition for international distribution. Smaller nations, such as the Scandinavian, cannot produce films on the budget American films can. All Scandinavian countries also produce popular mainstream genres, but only the national audiences watch them. What Scandinavian film and television is known for internationally is not mainstream genres and blockbusters. We are known for our auteurs, for those individuals that experiment and take chances. We're known for our contribution to the social and psychological realism, for putting existential and social problems on the agenda. Those trends dominate film, television and fiction, and documentaries. When Scandinavia, from time to time, produces genre films or genre television, as, for instance, the present Danish success series The Killing, critics abroad often point to special artist and thematic qualities that stand out compared to mainstream products. A special type of Scandinavian design is often defined In connection, for instance, with architecture and furniture. Perhaps some form of Scandinavian design is also visible in the film and television products we export successfully. Scandinavian countries are characterized by being highly developed welfare states. A core value is to secure equal opportunities for all, social solidarity and security. To reach this goal, the model promotes social rights and the principle that everyone is entitled to equal access to social and health services, education and culture. People in the Scandinavian countries pay a relatively high tax, but as a result of that, many things are free. Health service, education and also many cultural offers. The welfare state doesn't eliminate market forces and free enterprise, but the collaboration between the public and the private sector aims at securing the individual in the best possible way. The welfare model of Scandinavia also greatly influences film and television. Public support for cultural production in general and for film and television has a prominent place. As early as 1917, Norway established a municipal public cinema system. And in the 1930s, some countries established public-funded film support, for instance, SFC in Denmark in 1939 focusing on documentary film. But for film, the main institutional public initiatives came with the forming of national film institutes, in Sweden in 1963, in Denmark in 1972, and in Norway in 1988. This national support for film production has been developed since to meet the new challenges from globalization. To the national support system has been added the Nordic Film and Television Fund from 1990, and the various EU support mechanisms, through, for instance, Eurimages since 1988 and media programs since 1991. But why do the Scandinavian countries support film production? Well, the basic argument is that in a small country with between 5 to 10 million people, film production companies cannot survive without some public support. Cinema is an expensive art form and the market is simply too small. But behind this fundamental economic reason there are other more cultural reasons for support. If a market is very small, only very popular films would be made if there was no public support. The philosophy of the Scandinavian Film Institutes and the form of support aim at securing the diversity of filmmaking. The idea is that if we want a strong film culture as a whole, we have to make room for the production of a certain number of films per year. We also need to make sure that the films made cover different genres, drama, comedy, historical films, documentary film, children's films, etc. Now film production has always been both a national and very global phenomenon. American films clearly dominate in Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. Since 1945, American films have taken 60 to 70% of the total audience in cinemas in Europe and the national films dominate the rest. So for instance, in Denmark in 2007, American films took 61% of cinema admissions, Denmark took 23%, and European films counted for 14%, and 2% came from the rest of the world. Americans make excellent movies. That's one reason they are popular globally. But they also benefit from a huge home market giving their films a strong background for export. If we look just at the film history of Scandinavia, it is, in fact, rather unique that such small nations have contributed so much to the world film history. Before movies began to speak and language barriers became a problem, especially Denmark and Sweden had a strong voice in world film culture. Danish directors like Urban Gad, August Blom, Benjamin Christensen and Carl Th Dreyer were film world names. And in Sweden, directors like Victor Sjostrom and Mauritz Stiller were not far behind. Scandinavia has since contributed further with names like Ingmar Bergman, Bo Widerberg, Jan Troell, Lars von Trier, Susanne Bier, Bent Hamer and Aki Kaurismaki. In recent years many Scandinavian directors and actors have made their way to Hollywood, not just to collect prizes but also to make films. [MUSIC]